Articles
Ramblings on productivity, leadership, design, and development.
August 03, 2018
Some advice I’d like to offer those looking for a new job (in tech).
March 14, 2018
Writing code is like writing any text. There is a problem you want to solve — be it software development, developing a character, conveying a message — and a solution — the code, the story, the language — that you’re trying to find. The goal is to find the best solution to the problem.
February 06, 2018
A few years ago, I set a schedule of releasing an article every other week. I eventually became burned out, struggled to find ideas, and it began to feel like a job. So I stopped. I'm here again, but I decided to take a step back, redesign my site, clean up, and reset before pressing on.
April 05, 2016
Today’s web developer is exposed to a lot of technologies. And I mean, like, a lot. Seriously. There’s a new JavaScript framework every other day. So how do you stay on top of all of it? You don’t.
March 08, 2016
In the previous post, “Spreadsheets Can Be Pretty, Too,” we talked about how to make our spreadsheets more visually appealing. In this post, we’re going to do something — at least in my mind — infinitely cooler and more useful. We’re going to publish our spreadsheet to give us the data in JSON, and, from there, consume the JSON with JavaScript to display the data. Let’s do this!
February 23, 2016
Spreadsheets are excellent for presenting information in an easy-to-read format. They allow you to present data, make calculations, and apply conditional formatting. But, if we’re being honest, they sometimes leave much to desire in terms of design. That doesn’t have to be the case, though! Let’s talk about some easy ways to format spreadsheets for maximum pretty.
January 12, 2016
To test systems of organization, I use a process I call the “Input-System-Action Process.”
December 29, 2015
For me, organizing is second nature. It weaves itself through all facets of my life. And this includes the code that I write. No matter the language, I “design” my code to optimize readability. I’m biased, but I think it looks better, too.
November 17, 2015
Workflow automation improves efficiency and productivity, and there are a variety of ways to achieve it. Continuing on in the series on workflow automation, let’s turn our attention to Keyboard Maestro.
November 03, 2015
Workflow automation improves efficiency and productivity, and there are a variety of ways to achieve it. Continuing on in the series on workflow automation, let’s turn our attention to Hazel.
October 20, 2015
Workflow automation improves efficiency and productivity, and there are a variety of ways to achieve it. Continuing on in the series on workflow automation, let's turn our attention to bin scripts.
October 06, 2015
Workfow automation is, essentially, reducing a set of tasks into an automated process. In this first article in a series on workflow automation, I'd like to discuss what types of things I consider workflow automation, why it's important, and how to determine when and where to set it up.
September 22, 2015
As developers, we spend a lot of time on the command line. It's important to not only be comfortable working in it, but to create efficiencies for how we work in it. Let's go through 5 tips to improve productivity on the command line.
September 08, 2015
Contextual style changes can bloat CSS. Whether it's random spacing or color changes (damn designers), small variations can get out of hand. How can we manage contextual tweaks _without_ growing the size and scope of our CSS? Let's take a look at using single-property tool classes for managing one-off design changes.
August 25, 2015
I constantly evaluate my workflow to discover areas of repetitiveness. If I’m continually repeating a particular process, I will work on automating it.
August 11, 2015
A common misconception I see with new developers is the apprehension to “Google” something. There’s an assumption that Googling is wrong or somehow cheating. Despite popular belief, developers don't store every single piece of information in their head. Developers use Google. A lot.
July 28, 2015
I’ve come to the conclusion that CSS architecture is the most difficult thing I spend my time on. I’ve built a Sinatra application powered by Basecamp’s API, spent time working with the React JavaScript framework, built a few Rails applications, and started learning more Ruby (outside of Rails). Yet, for me, CSS architecture takes the cake for difficulty. And why is that?
June 30, 2015
Front-end development has had an interesting evolution. In the “olden” days, we were known as “web designers.” We would take pixel-perfect Photoshop files from designers and convert them into functioning HTML, CSS, and the occasional bits of JavaScript. From there, a backend developer would hook up the front-end to dynamic, server-side data to create a fully functional application.
June 16, 2015
I spend a large majority of my day working with Git and GitHub. I’m also very opinionated, so this is a random collection of opinions and techniques that I employ while working in said technologies.
May 19, 2015
Gulp is a streaming build system that helps to automate and enhance your workflow. Let's look at some ways that we can clean up the Gulpfile in order to make it more modular and customizable.
April 21, 2015
Firstly, what are "dotfiles"? Well, dotfiles is a name used to denote a set of configuration files (generally hidden ones with a '.' before the filename) that are used to set up and configure various applications and settings.
April 07, 2015
If you work with Git and GitHub on a large team, then you're probably familiar with the idea of feature branches.
May 21, 2014
When it comes to writing modular CSS, I try to stick to the Single Responsibility Principle wherever possible. This will limit the scope of your modules and allow you to easily build and combine them to create flexible style patterns.
© 2019 Drew Barontini — Building products under Drewbio, LLC